VZCZCXRO2254
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #0751/01 0861355
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 271355Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7946
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000751 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/WE, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EAID AF AADP FR
SUBJECT: FRENCH SPECIAL ENVOY: FRANCE TO INCREASE ITS 
COMMITMENT TO AFGHANISTAN 
 
Classified By: PRT and Sub-National Governance Counselor Valerie C. Fow 
ler for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1.  (C) French Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan 
Pierre Lellouche visited Kapisa province on March 24 where he 
participated in a shura of Afghan leaders and received 
briefings on the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and 
combined US-French military operations.  Lellouche indicated 
that President Sarkozy will announce at the International 
Conference on Afghanistan at The Hague and the NATO Summit 
that France will increase its commitment to security and 
development in Afghanistan, with particular emphasis on 
agriculture programs in Kapisa Province and neighboring 
Sarobi District. 
 
Increased French Commitment 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) At a March 24 shura of Afghan leaders, Special Envoy 
Lellouche told Afghan officials and village elders that his 
visit marked the beginning of a new initiative by President 
Sarkozy to increase France,s commitment to the security and 
development of Afghanistan.  Governor Khwaja Khausuddin 
Abobaker, along with the 3/201 Afghan National Army (ANA) 
Brigade Commander, Independent Directorate of Local 
Governance (IDLG) Senior Advisor, and a representative of the 
local elders, repeatedly thanked the coalition and the PRT 
for all that is currently being accomplished in their 
province.  Governor Abobaker offered suggestions for French 
assistance, reciting from a list of 11 major development 
projects that ranged from a new power station to a dairy, 
taken from the Afghan National Development Strategy.  Special 
Envoy Lellouche responded by stating that France could not 
afford the billions of dollars all of these projects require, 
but will work closely with the United States, United Nations 
Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), and the Afghan 
government to pursue these goals. (Lellouche stated to the 
press that French aid would increase from 10M euros to 40m 
euros in 2009, and grow to 100m euros in 2010.) 
 
¶3.  (C) Following the departure of the Afghans the Task 
Force, PRT representatives, and French officers briefed 
Lellouche and his delegation from the French Embassy, Foreign 
Ministry, and UNAMA. Lellouche asked detailed questions and 
said France is giving serious consideration to establishing a 
French PRT.  Special Envoy Lellouche indicated that President 
Sarkozy will announce a significant increase in France,s 
military and financial commitment during the International 
Conference on Afghanistan at The Hague and the NATO Summit. 
 
¶4.  (C) In a meeting March 27 with State PRT Director, French 
Embassy Counselor Cecile Sportis said that a French PRT 
remains a longer-term consideration.  Sportis expects 
President Sarkozy,s announcement to detail a French 
commitment emphasizing agriculture programs in Kapisa 
Province and neighboring Sarobi District.  These programs 
will nest in UNAMA,s Integrated Approach.  In the 
short-term, the French will focus on apiculture (bees and 
honey) as both a cash crop and source of sugar for families; 
on poultry farms; and on fertilizer and seeds, either for 
sale through local distributors or distributed on a for-work 
basis.  Sportis noted that the French anticipate having pilot 
projects underway before May, when President Sarkozy may 
visit Afghanistan.  In the longer-term, Sportis identified 
the establishment of eight veterinary clinics, a dairy 
factory, and training centers for farmers as proposed foci. 
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) line 
directors in Kapisa and Sarobi welcomed the idea of training 
centers in both locations, which Sportis estimates could 
train 4,000 farmers each year.  In response to a question, 
Sportis added that she anticipates President Sarkozy will 
also announce significant new French commitments to police 
mentoring. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Kapisa Province, along with Sarobi District in Kabul 
Province just to the south, will remain at the center of 
French presence in Afghanistan.  The French will have their 
hands full, and there will be complex transfer issues should 
they decide to assume command of their own area of 
operational responsibility from the U.S. in the highly 
conflictive zone.  Currently, French Task Force Tiger, 
consisting of a battalion of the elite Chasseurs Alpins, is 
the principal maneuver unit of US Task Force Warrior, a 
 
KABUL 00000751  002 OF 002 
 
 
component brigade of CJTF-101 in RC-East.  This partnership 
has been exceptional.  However much resolve the French bring 
to their new level of commitment - for example, in sustaining 
forward operating bases or taking on the full scope of a PRT 
- their challenge will be to carefully match ambition with 
capabilities. 
WOOD